


day five: hurt/comfort

by Hannah (hannahoftheinternet)



Series: HartmonFest 2019 [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hartmon Fest 2019, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, POV Cisco Ramon, POV Third Person, Pre-Relationship, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 04:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17891375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahoftheinternet/pseuds/Hannah
Summary: Since Dante was killed by a drunk driver, Cisco finds that he can't stand the thought of alcohol.





	day five: hurt/comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings: character death, alcohol, mentions of food and vomiting

It’s the third time someone has mentioned alcohol in the lab today, and Cisco needs to leave. Like, right now.

“Cisco…” Caitlin says as he leaves. He pretends he can’t hear her. It’s surprisingly easy to ignore her. Even easier to ignore Barry, who reaches out like he’s going to grab him by the shoulder.

He doesn’t actually go anywhere, just winds up leaning against the wall in the entrance to the Pipeline. 

The funeral was yesterday. Cisco only went for half an hour. He couldn’t face his parents. When he went home, he threw out the bottle of wine he’d been saving for a special occasion. Well, he’d tried. His hands shook so badly that the bottle fell, smashing into a million pieces on the floor.

Bile rises in his throat. Even the thought of alcohol makes him want to throw up, makes his stomach churn.

Before he knows it, his tears have formed wet patches on his jeans. He presses the heels of his palms against his eyes and swallows hard, but he just keeps  _ crying _ .

Footsteps in the hallway. If it’s Barry, Cisco is going to hit him. Or yell at him. Or something.

“Hello?” says a voice, and that’s definitely not Barry. Cisco sniffles pathetically and turns his head away as Hartley comes into view. “Oh. Cisco.”

“Hi,” he says, refusing to turn his head. “Please go away.”

Instead of going away, Hartley sits at a polite distance from him. “I heard you crying.”

Cisco glares down into the Pipeline. “So you decided to comfort me?”

“Distract you. It’s hard to work when someone is sobbing in your ear.”

“I wasn’t  _ sobbing _ ,” he spits, even though he was. He’s been sobbing for two weeks now.

After a long silence, Hartley says, “I’m sorry about Dante,” and the dam bursts again. Cisco just lets the tears come. He knows that wiping them away won’t do any good.

“I keep thinking he’ll call,” he whispers. “Every time my phone rings, I think it’s him. That everyone was just a dumb joke.”

Hartley doesn’t say anything, and when Cisco turns to look at him, his face is blank.

“Keep talking,” he says. “It might help.”

And Cisco does. He finds words spilling over each other, words about Dante. He tells Hartley about Dante buying him ice cream sandwiches from Mr. Brock’s ice cream truck the summer before Cisco started middle school. About listening to Dante practicing on his piano way into the night. About Captain Cold. And by some miracle, he stops crying.

Hartley doesn’t mumble a mass-produced pick-me-up like everyone else has been doing. He simply says, “He sounds nice.”

Three months ago, Cisco wouldn’t have described his brother as  _ nice _ . “He was.” Maybe it’s a lie.

“Do you want me to go? Or can I stay?”

Cisco just looks at him, processing the words. It’s hard to read Hartley’s expression, and even harder to decide. Does he want to be sad by himself? Or with a friend? “Stay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so very sorry.
> 
> Comments are a writer's best friend!


End file.
